Munich/Holly Springs, GA, 08 May 2015 - Technology company The Linde Group has successfully launched its new HYDROPRIME® plant line of innovative, cost effective hydrogen generators which are based on proven steam methane reforming technology. Hydro-Chem, a division of Linde Engineering North America, announced today that it has tested and proven the reliability and suitability of these units in various applications. The company is now launching the mass production release of HYDROPRIME® as a competitive and reliable local production alternative to trucked-in bulk gases.

“Linde developed HYDROPRIME® to address the market place requirement for efficient, easy-to-install, compact plants by taking advantage of Hydro-Chem’s extensive experience in modular hydrogen plant design and fabrication,” according to Raju Natarajan, President, Hydro-Chem.

HYDROPRIME® plants offer many advantages over traditional supply modes such as truck-delivered liquid hydrogen, electrolytic plants, and conventional steam methane reforming plants. These plants have a capacity of 0.15 – 0.9 MMSCFD (165 – 1,000 Nm3/h) and produce ultra-high purity hydrogen (99.999+ %) at 200 psi (13.8 bar), reducing the need for product compression in most uses. The new product line has a very high natural gas conversion rate and is highly heat integrated, which translates into low operating cost.

HYDROPRIME® plants are ideally suited for customers who expect high reliability and superior environmental and safety performance. The plants are fully automatic with fail-safe controls, allowing unattended operation, remote start-up, operation, and monitoring. In addition, they feature a modular open skid design and a small footprint. This facilitates easy installation while providing good access for routine maintenance.

Recognizing the diverse needs of a global market place, Linde offers HYDROPRIME® as a build-own-operate solution to simplify ownership and maintenance for the end user and eliminate customer-owned capital investment. Alternatively, HYDROPRIME® plants can be owned and operated by the end user with various support models by Linde, if desired. With HYDROPRIME®, Linde is able to offer even more flexible solutions for hydrogen supply to an extensive range of industries, including glass, chemicals, foods, metals, electronics, photovoltaics, and energy.

About Hydro-Chem

Hydro-Chem, a division of Linde Engineering North America Inc. (LENA), is a member of The Linde Group, a world-leading gases and engineering company. Hydro-Chem delivers technology and equipment for modular hydrogen, synthesis gas, and methanol plants. Over the past 35 years, Hydro-Chem has developed a complete portfolio of on-site hydrogen generators with over two hundred installations around the world.

In the 2014 financial year, The Linde Group generated revenue of EUR 17.047 bn (USD 17.9 bn), making it the largest gases and engineering company in the world with approximately 65,591 employees working in more than 100 countries worldwide. The strategy of The Linde Group is geared towards long-term profitable growth and focuses on the expansion of its international business with forward-looking products and services. Linde acts responsibly towards its shareholders, business partners, employees, society and the environment – in every one of its business areas, regions and locations across the globe. The company is committed to technologies and products that unite the goals of customer value and sustainable development.